COURSE SYLLABUS

ECON-E 103-1614
INTRO TO MICROECONOMICS
Spring 2012
IU EAST
General Information
Instructor: Estep, Leslie
Cell Phone: (765) 338-9424
Web Page: http://oncourse.iu.edu

Email: llestep@indiana.edu (preferred)

Course Description:
This course is offered entirely on the internet using IU East Oncourse site
(https://oncourse.iu.edu). Please read the Technical Requirements, Course Access and
Navigation, and Communications below to get familiar with this online environment.
Microeconomics is the study of the choices that individuals and businesses make, the way these
choices interact in markets, and the influence of governments. It is an important tool used in a
wide range of disciplines including law, public policy, health, and banking. This introductory
course teaches the fundamentals of microeconomics and provides their use in understanding,
critique, and analysis of economics issues. Topics emphasized include the economic decisionmaking of individuals and firms; markets and the price mechanism; market structures; inequality
and uncertainty; market failure and government.
Student Learning Objectives
Students who successfully complete the course should have a better understanding of
Microeconomics and the modern economy in general. Specifically after studying this course,
students should be able to:
1. Define microeconomics and explain the key ideas that define the economic way of
thinking;
2. Discuss and graphically analyze how prices influence demand and supply and how
demand and supply determine prices and quantities bought and sold;
3. Explain the concept of marginal thinking and how economic decision-makers use
marginal thinking when making choices among scarce resources;
4. Use the concept of opportunity cost to explain how scarcity forces people to make
choices about how to use resources;
5. Identify and describe the implications of different market structures;
6. Understand the influences of negative and positive externalities on economic efficiency;
7. Explain the market mechanism for factors of production;
8. Identify and explain the major forces impacting the distribution of income and wealth;

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Course Text:
The textbook for the course is Microeconomics, by Michael Parkin, 10th edition, Pearson, Addison
Wesley. The textbook serves as the foundation of the material to be covered in this course and will be
supplemented by outside readings when appropriate.
Technical Requirements
You must have access to a computer that connects to the Internet. The course materials are only
accessible online by logging in to https://oncourse.iu.edu your student ID number is required.
If you do not own a computer, the computer labs on campus will be open during this semester.
You must have MS Office 2007 installed in your computer. You can download free and reducedcost software including MS Office 2007 by directly visiting IUware at http://iuware.iu.edu/.
You must check your e-mail account and log in to Oncourse a few times a week throughout the
semester. Weekly schedules are announced on Monday morning. Official announcements will be
made by e-mail and on the course website.
You are responsible for saving all assignments, quizzes, and other work correctly, so you can turn
them in electronically.
For more details about the equipment and technical skills needed for you to be successful in
online classes, please refer to the Suggested Students Computer Hardware/Software
Requirements page located on the Distance Education Student Resource FAQ website at the
following address: http://www.iue.edu/academic/choices/guides.shtml. You should review this
page before the semester starts. If you dont have the items and skills listed or if you are unsure
about working with computers in general, this course is probably not for you.
Course Access and Navigation
This course was developed using a web course tool called Oncourse CL. It is to be delivered
entirely online. Students will use their IU username and passphrase to login to the course at
https://oncourse.iu.edu. To get started with an online course, please see the information by
clicking on links on the left of the window at https://oncourse.iu.edu.

If you encounter any technical difficulties within the course site, you may contact the
Information Technology Help Desk by sending an email to iueitsup@indiana.edu or calling 765973-8375 (available by phone 24/7). The Help Desk technicians are trained to field questions on
everything from email issues to Oncourse issues, and their assistance is free.

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Communications
This Oncourse CL has built-in communication tools such as Messages, Forums, Announcements,
and Email Archive which will be used for interaction and communication. Some external
communication tools such as regular email may also be used during the semester.
Interaction with Instructor: The instructor will communicate with students mainly using the
tools mentioned above. Students may send personal concerns or questions to the instructor as
well. The instructor will reply to student messages or emails within 2 working days under normal
circumstances.
Class resources will be posted in Oncourse. Generally speaking, the following are some
frequently-used tabs on the left of the Oncourse webpage where class materials are posted.
(Otherwise, I will specify.)
Tabs
Syllabus
Assignments
Resources

Materials Posted
Course syllabus
Exams, Homework assignments and other
exercises
Lecture PPT slides, lecture notes, etc.

Grade Book
Messages
Announcements

Scores for each assignment and exam

Exchanging messages
Public important announcements to the class

Note: You are responsible for reading all posted announcements, messages, and
emails and should check these regularly.
Student Evaluation

All assignments need to be submitted timely, via the appropriate

assignment tabnot regular email, etc. Late assignments will not
be accepted unless a documented emergency prohibits timely reply.
Most of the assignments will be due on Sunday each week at 11:55pm
Please type just your answers in the textbox for submission whenever
possiblerather than reattaching the assignment.
1. Exams: There are 2 exams held throughout the term. Each exam will cover roughly one
half of the course material. See tentative schedule below for the dates when exams will be
held. The exams will account for a total of 40% of your grade.

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Exams may not be made up if not submitted by the deadline unless the
student has contacted the instructor ahead of time and extension is approved
and documented.
2. Homework Assignments: There are 3 mandatory homework assignments which will be
individually graded and returned to the students. Homework assignments are due on the
indicated days in the tentative schedule. The homework assignments will account for
20% of your grade.
3. Term Project: Each student is required to do an independent project .
You are expected to write up a report on your project. The project details will be provided
during the semester. The project will account for 20% of your grade
4. Mini-Exercise: There are 15 regular mini-exercises. These mini-exercises will account for
20% of your grade.
Grading Scale
Forums/Participation
Exams
Term Project
Mini-Exercise
Total Points:

15%
3=45%
1=20%
15=20%
100%

Scores on all your work will be posted to the Gradebook in Oncourse. Final letter grades will be
determined by the following grading-scale table. The instructor reserves the right to adjust
the scale depending on the overall class performance.
The Schedule of Topics:
Wee
k
1

Week of

09/01

3
4
5
6

09/08
09/15
09/22
09/29

7
8
9

10/06
10/13
10/20

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Reading

Topics

Chapter 1
Five Foundations of Econ
Chapter 2
Model Building/Gain-Trade
Chapter 3
Supply and Demand
Chapter 4
Elasticity
Chapter 5
Price Controls
Chapter 6
Efficiency/Taxation
Exam I Chapters 1-6 Due 9/28
Chapter 7
Market Inefficiencies
Chapter 8
Business Costs
Chapter 09
Competitive Mkt/Firms
Chapter 10
Monopoly
Chapter 11
Price Discrimination

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10

10/27

Chapter 12

Monopolistic Competition

11

11/03

Chapter 13

Oligopoly

Exam II (7-12) Due

11/09
12

11/10

13

11/17

14
15

11/24
12/01

15/16

12/08

Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter

16
Fall Break!
Chapter 17
Chapter 18

Demand -Supply/Resources
Income/Equity/Poverty
Consumer Choice

Project Due 11/30

Behavioral Economics
Heath Ins/Care

Exam III (13-18) Due 12/14

Note: The above is a tentative schedule. In general, even if the specific date of coverage may change
slightly, the order of coverage should remain as presented above. Modifications may be made as the
semester progresses and the appropriate changes will be announced in class.
IUE Policies:
The University has policies and discipline procedures regarding scholastic dishonesty. All students
are expected to maintain a high level of responsibility with respect to academic honesty. For detailed
information on university policies on student rights, responsibilities, and conduct, please refer to
http://dsa.indiana.edu/Code/index.html
For academic information on matters such as registration, course adding/dropping, and
grades/grading policies, please refer to
http://www.iue.edu/administration/registrar
For inquiries concerning IU Easts administrative policies such as sexual harassment and
discrimination, please refer to
http://www.iue.edu/administration/hr/affirmative.shtml
For inquiries regarding Disability Services, please refer to
http://www.iue.edu/student/support/services.shtml

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Indiana University East

School of Business and Economics
ECON-E103-27590 Microeconomics
Applied Project
Total: 20 Percent

Due by: Sunday, 11/30, by 11:59 pm

Description
You are required to pick a real business, imagine that you are the owner or store manager of the
business, and look into how the business determines the demand and supply for the
good(s)/service(s) they provide. To complete the project, you are expected to follow the steps as
stated below.
Step 1: Look for a business of your interest located in your area (it could be a
business that provides just a single category of product(s)/service(s) or has multiple
lines of product(s)/service(s))
Search for the following information about the business.
-

Product(s)/Service(s) provided by the business

Location of the business (i.e. street address of the business)

Name of the owner or store manager (who might be your potential interviewee
if you decide to go for an interview)

Industry (in which industry the business is operating?)

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Market structure (whether the business is a monopoly in the region? If not, find
out how competitive the market is in the region. You can show a list of some
competitors in your region.)

Business Type (whether the business is a single store (like convenience store or
liquor store etc.), chain business, or multinational business)

Step 2: You are encouraged to arrange an interview with the owner or store manager
of the business you picked above so that you can collect more first-hand and detailed
information as stated in Step 3 below to write up a project report. [Step 1 and Step 2
can be carried out concurrently once you have picked the business.]

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Step 3: Collect the following information as much as possible.

-

Current number of employees

Approximate annual revenue over the past few years (i.e. 5 years)

Detailed description of the good(s)/service(s) provided by the business

How does the business estimate the demand and supply for the good(s)/service(s)
they provide?

How does the supply of good(s)/service(s) satisfy the demand over the past few
years (i.e. 5 years)?

What are the factors that might affect the demand and supply for the
good(s)/service(s) and how?

Step 4: Write up a project report (max. 5 pages, excluding title page, abstract and
references ) based on the information you have collected in Step 1 and 3 and discuss
how the business can determine the equilibrium price and quantity for the
good(s)/service(s). All the information included in Step 1 must be real. For any parts
in step 3 where first-hand information is not directly obtainable, you can come up
with some estimation by using your own knowledge, observation, or internet research
etc.
Your written report should contain the following information items that must be
presented in the same order.
(1)

Name of the business.

(2)

Location of the business.

(3)

Industry.

(4)

Market structure.

(5)

Store type.

(6)

Name of the owner/store manager.

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(7)

Number of employees.

(8)

Approximate annual revenue.

(9)

Good(s)/Service(s) description.

(10)

How does the business estimate the demand and supply for its
good(s)/service(s)?

(11)

How does the supply satisfy demand over the past few years?

(12)

Explain what influences the demand and supply for its good(s)/service(s)
and how studied in the project.

(13)

Explain how the firm can determine the equilibrium between the demand
and supply.

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Project Report Format

You are expected to follow the format below in writing your report.
A. Content of Report
1. Title Page
Organize the followings nicely in the title page.

Indiana University East , School of Business and Economics, E103

Introduction to Microeconomics, Semester, Year, Class No. xxxxx,
Applied Project - followed by the name of your selected business
Submitted by followed by your name
Date of the report

2. Abstract (start a new page for the abstract)

Center the word Abstract at the top of the page
Write a brief (between 150 and 250 words) summary of your report in a precise and
concise manner.
3. Main body (start a new page for the main body, do not include the words Main body on
this page.)
Organize the information you have collected for Items 1 to 15 into sections of your
choice but the items must be presented in the same order as in Step 4 on Page 2.
Section titles must be included in the main body.
Quote your sources of information. Please refer to the APA In-text Quotations
(http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/02/ and
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/03/) on how to quote the sources of
your information.
4. References (start a new page for the references and external links)
Center the word References at the top of the page
Double-space each reference entry
For each entry, flush left the first line and indent the subsequent lines
Arrange the entries in alphabetical order of the authors surnames
Examples can be found at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/

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B. Presentation of Materials
Writing style

Clarity (clear you must be specific in your description and explanations, concise you must
condense your information whenever you can, and plain please use only simple and
descriptive adjectives)
Organization of sections
Use the third person point of view and active voice
In addition, your report should

be typed, either with single-line or double-line spacing, two spaces after punctuation betwee
sentences, 1 margins on all sides and in 10-12 pts. Times New Roman
include a page header containing Applied Project - followed by the name of your selecte
business in the upper left-hand side of every page and a page number in the upper right-hand
of every page.

Use of table (appropriate use, not the more the merrier)

Use of chart/graph (appropriate use, not the more the merrier)

Quoting of References (appropriate quoting, not the more the merrier)

Assessment Rubric
The project report will be graded according to the following rubric.

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Category

Unacceptable

Proficient

Mastery

Ability to collect and relate

the background information
of the firm.

Incomplete or complete with

significantly irrelevant
information

Complete but with some

minor irrelevant
information

Complete with all relevant

information

[Items (1) to (8)]

(>=0% but < 3%)

(>=3% but < 3.5%)

Ability to describe the

good(s)/service(s) in the
study [Item (9)]

Little or no mention about the

Basic description about the

(1) appearance, possible uses

and price of the study good(s),
or

(1) appearance, possible

uses and price of the study
good(s), or

(2) render form, possible uses

and charge of the study
service(s)

(2) render form, possible

uses and charge of the
study service(s)

(>=0% but < 3%)

(>=3% but < 3.5%)

(>=3.5% but < 4%)

Clear description, with
comparison of similar
good(s)/service(s) provided
by other firm(s), about the
(1) appearance, possible
uses and price of the study
good(s), or
(2) render form, possible
uses and charge of the
study service(s)
(>=3.5% but < 4%)

Ability to use the

terminologies in
microeconomics to describe
the demand for, supply of the
good(s)/service(s) in the
study and their equilibrium
condition

Unable to quote at all or

improper quotes of the
demand and/supply
terminologies in numerous
places.

Improper quotes of the

demand and/or supply
terminologies in limited
places

Perfect quotes of the

demand and supply
terminologies in all the
places

(>=3% but < 3.5%)

(>=3.5% but < 4%)

Able to identify some

correct possible factors that
might affect demand for
and supply of the study
good(s)/service(s) but not
all in the correct direction

Able to identify some

correct possible factors that
might affect demand for
and supply of the study
good(s)/service(s) and in
the correct direction

(>=3% but < 3.5%)

(>=3.5% but < 4%)

Report is well organized

with few
spelling/grammatical
mistakes

Report is extraordinary well

organized without any
spelling and grammatical
mistake

(>=0% but < 3%)

[Items (10) to (12)]

Understanding of the
interaction between demand
and supply on equilibrium
price and quantity [Items
(13) and (15)]

Include some possible factors

but unable to identify all
correctly whether they should
affect demand for or supply of
the study good(s)/service(s)
(>=0% but < 3%)

Overall organization and

coherence

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Report is not well organized

with spelling and/or
grammatical mistakes in
numerous places

Fall 2014

(>=0% but < 3%)

(>=3% but < 3.5%)

(>=3.5% but < 4%)

Academic Calendar
March 24 (Mon.) Early/priority registration for Fall 2014 begins for continuing students.
March 28 (Fri.) Open registration for Fall 2014 begins.
August 16 (Sat.) Open 9a.m. -1p.m. for enrollment/registration activities.
August 23 (Sat.) Open 9a.m. -1p.m. for enrollment/registration activities.
August 25 (Mon.) CLASSES BEGIN
August 25 31 Late registration/schedule adjustment period. $25.00 late registration fee in
effect.
August 31 (Sun.) Last day to register, add courses, or change sections. Last day to drop courses
or totally
withdraw with no grade recorded. From September 1 through October 26 a grade of W will
be recorded for all courses dropped.
August 31 (Sun.) Last day to drop or withdraw with a 100 percent refund.
September 1 (Mon.) Labor Day Holiday. Campus closed.
September 5 (Fri.) Deadline to apply for graduation December 2014 graduates.
September 7 (Sun.) Last day to drop or withdraw with a 75 percent refund.
September 10 (Wed.) FEE PAYMENT DUE DATE.
September 12 (Fri.) Last day to drop 1st seven-week classes with an automatic W.
September 14 (Sun.) Last day to drop or withdraw with a 50 percent refund.
September 21 (Sun.) Last day to drop or withdraw with a 25 percent refund. No refund after this
date.
October 10 (Fri.) FEE PAYMENT DUE DATE.
October 13 (Mon.) 1st seven-week classes end.
October 14 (Tue.) 2nd seven-week classes begin.
October 26 (Sun.) Deadline to drop or withdraw from the University with an automatic W.
(Drops after this
date must be approved by the instructor and academic dean.)
October 27 (Mon.) Early/priority registration for Spring 2015 begins for continuing students.
October 31 (Fri.) Open registration for Spring 2015 begins.
November 1 (Sat.) Deadline to apply for graduation May, June, and/or August 2015 graduates.
November 3 (Mon.) Last day to drop 2nd seven-week classes with an automatic W.
November 10 (Mon.) FEE PAYMENT DUE DATE.
November 2430 Fall Break no classes (campus open 24-26 ~ ~ campus closed 27-30).
December 8 (Mon.) LAST DAY OF CLASSES. Deadline to withdraw with instructors grade of
W or F.
December 9 (Tue.) Final examinations begin.
December 10 (Wed.) FEE PAYMENT DUE DATE.
December 15 (Mon.) Last day of final examinations.
December 17 (Wed.) Deadline for faculty to have their grades posted in SIS.

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December 18 (Thur.) Fall grades available at www.onestart.iu.edu

December 31 (Wed.) Degree conferral date for Fall graduates.

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